Into the Pensieve
by WingardiumLeviosa01
Summary: The Potter/Weasley children are at the Potter's house for the Christmas break. But when all their presents are taken away and with no magic, they resort to actually spending time together. They stumble across their parent's Pensieve, which holds all the combined memories of the night of the historic Second Wizarding War. Watch as the memories of past change the children's futures.
1. Chapter 1

**Into the Pensieve**

Christmas was a time of warmth in the Potter's home. It was one of the few occasions per year when the whole family was together as one, exchanging gifts and smiles, and finally, all feasting like Gods at the end of the night. However, the day following Christmas was a completely different story altogether.

"Fred." James Sirius Potter leaned over his cousin and shook him vehemently. Fred awoke with a sharp jolt.

"Waz goin' on?" Fred spoke incoherently, eyes only half open.

"Shh!" James quieted him, speaking in a pressing tone. "It's time, remember?"

"What time?" Fred yawned. James snorted and slapped him across the cheek. "_OW!_" Fred yelped. James urgently quieted him again, grabbing onto Fred's shoulders and shaking them crazily.

"Shut _up!_ Do you want to spoil everything?" James hissed at him, deciding to clamp his hand down on Fred's mouth so they wouldn't wake any of their cousins. "It's time for the _prank_," James said into Fred's ear, stressing the word.

Fred's bright blue eyes finally opened all the way, staring into James'. "Oh." He said simply, a bit bashfully.

"Yeah." James snorted back, rolling his eyes. "Let's go."

The two boys grabbed their wands, stepped cautiously over their sleeping cousins, and finally reached the door with huge grins on their faces.

"Nothing better than a good prank." Fred remarked, watching over his huge family and trying not to laugh.

"Amen." James said, shoving Fred out of the room and closing it behind them softly, then following his cousin down the stairs and into the kitchen to get the supplies.

"Lily." Hugo Weasley whispered to his cousin, whose eyes looked slightly parted in an unnatural way. "Are you awake?"

"Those idiots." Lily said quietly. "As if we wouldn't wake up. What do you reckon we should do?"

Hugo shrugged his shoulders. "Is there anything we can do?"

Lily snorted. "There's always something we can do. I suggest that we get out of here."

Hugo shrugged again. "I'm following you." He told her. Lily brushed her red hair out of her eyes and got up slowly, stretching a bit.

"Okay." Lily said, leading him out, and shutting the door behind them quietly, tiptoeing down the stairs to the backyard.

"Ted," Victoire Weasley said sleepily into her boyfriend's chest. "The kids are gone."

"They can take care of themselves." Teddy Lupin assured her, brushing her feathery blonde hair aimlessly.

"Lily said Fred and James are off pulling some prank." Victoire told him quietly, eyes remaining closed.

Teddy groaned a bit, a vibration that Victoire felt on her hands as she leaned against his chest. "Let's go someplace else." He offered.

"Like where?" Victoire asked.

"You could dance." Teddy offered. Victoire tilted her head up to look at him, her diamond blue eyes sparkling as she smiled.

She led him by the hand out of the room and across the hallway, into an empty room.

"Ew." Louis Weasley said to Albus Severus Potter, who was sitting up and fully awake. Rose Weasley, who sat beside him, nodded her head.

"_'You could dance'_" Rose imitated, rolling her eyes.

"Be nice," Albus told her gently, knowing that Rose was not one to cross in the morning. Or any time, for that matter.

"Nuh-uh, I'm with Rose." Louis said, pulling another disgusted face at his eldest sister's behaviour. "And James and Fred are planning—"

"A prank. We know." Albus finished, wanting to move out as soon as possible. "Long story short: let's get out of here."

The three made their way to the attic quietly.

James rubbed his hands together with a devilish smirk. He gave a handful of dungbombs to Fred, and a biting doorknob. James had in his hands three Whizzing Worms, and two Cranky Crawlies, the kind without snappers. James knew he would get in heaps of trouble for this prank, but he didn't care. What was Christmas without a prank?

"On my count." Fred said. "One, two..."

"Three!" They said together, tossing the items into the room where their cousins slept and hearing an audible BANG. Quickly, Fred fastened the biting doorknob so their cousins couldn't get out, and shut the door, bursting into a fit of snickers with James.

The screams were likely heard by everyone in the whole house, so James and Fred ran quickly into the attic to hide from James' mother and father.

"Al?" James stopped quickly in his tracks as he observed his two cousins and his younger brother playing wizard's chess.

"Oh. Uh, hi." Albus said to his brother nervously, quickly trying to come up with something to say.

"I thought you were all sleeping." Fred told the three.

"We were until you and James woke us up." Louis explained, then doing a small dance of victory and cheering softly "Checkmate!" to a frowning Rose.

Albus sighed in defeat. "Sorry to have ruined your prank." Though Albus wore a straight face, his eyes were dancing, and James growled.

He turned to Fred, said, "Those damn kids," and walked out. Fred too, was disappointed the whole family didn't get pranked, but wondered to himself, if they had been loud enough for their three cousins to wake up, had anyone else woken up?

"To an empty room!" James declared, moving faster now that his parents would likely charge out of their room any time soon and the two boys were in plain sight. They burst into the room and quickly shut the door behind them. As they breathed out, Fred groaned.

"You two are gross." Fred declared, as Teddy and Victoire broke apart, both seemingly unperturbed by the two boys who had just walked in on them snogging.

"How'd your prank work out?" Victoire shot back in a knowing tone, which made Fred instantly frustrated. Why did everyone seem to know about their prank?

"Great!" James shot back, equally frustrated, and stormed out of the room. Fred followed right behind, getting angrier by the second.

"I know I heard screams! Someone must have gotten pranked!" Fred exclaimed, while James searched for another place to go.

"There's no time to check, let's go outside and hide!" James pushed Fred down the stairs, not even bothering to be quiet about it.

"_James Sirius Potter!"_ Was echoed through the house at an alarmingly loud volume, which could only be that of James's mother, Ginny Potter.

James knew at that moment that the prank had been somewhat successful and grinned at Fred. The two shared a brief moment of glee, before running away faster than his new Nimbus 5000 could fly.

Breathing heavily once they reached the backyard, they finally sat, satisfied.

"Well let's see:" Fred began, looking into the sky in deep thought. "We had eleven cousins in the room when we left. Take away three," He held up eight fingers. "Take away another two," He put down two fingers. "Alright. We got six of them. Not bad, I guess." He settled.

James sighed. "Better than nothing," He decided.

"James got in trouble!" Hugo jumped out from behind the shed, holding Rose's broom in his small hands. Lily ran out beside him, smiling at the boys.

Fred put his head in his hands. "Minus two. We pranked four people." He said, and it suddenly sounded a lot more pathetic than it had two seconds ago.

"Some prank." James said gruffly, kicking a patch of dirt and looking up to Hugo. "Your sister is going to kill you for touching that, you know." He told the small ginger boy standing before him.

Hugo suddenly looked very nervous. "You won't tell, will you?" He stuttered.

"If you tell, we'll tell Mum you pulled the prank!" Lily said to James defiantly, while Hugo watched her in admiration.

James snorted. "I think she knows." He watched as his little sister's face fell, then she turned to Hugo and told him to go return the broom to the shed. Hugo ran quickly, and was back with empty hands in a matter of seconds.

"_James!_" Ginny Potter came storming out of the house in her lavender robe, eyes narrowed like a hawk, hair wildly whipping from behind her.

"Morning." James said cheekily, while Lily and Hugo nervously backpedaled away from the boys, as if they too, would get in trouble for merely being close to the boys.

Ginny laughed without humour. "Oh, if you could see your father right now, cleaning up your mess."

Just the mention of James's father, Harry Potter, made both Fred and James stop smiling. "We, uh..." James stuttered.

"It is the morning after Christmas! You don't think, after all the running around your father and I did last night, preparing meals, washing dishes, entertaining, giving _gifts_," She stressed the last word, knowing that James loved Christmas because of the exchanging of presents. "You don't think we'd be tired? That maybe, we might want to sleep?"

"I... I didn't really think of that." James said.

"And Fred? Do you have anything to say for yourself?" She demanded of her nephew.

"I'm sorry Aunt Ginny." Fred lowered, "We didn't want you and Uncle Harry to be affected by the prank, honest."

While she stood there with arms crossed, looking down on the two boys, she sighed and ran an angry hand through her knotted hair. Sighing again, this time a bit more dejectedly, she said, "Give me your presents."

"What?" James demanded loudly. "What do you mean, give you our—"

"Presents. Your gifts that you received yesterday. This is called a punishment. I know you're both familiar with that."

"Aunt Ginny, in all respect, you can't be serious! It's the day after Christmas! A day specifically reserved for playing with our new presents!" Fred explained, scandalized.

But Ginny didn't budge. "I want your presents and I want them now. In fact, I think everyone should give back their presents."

"No!" Lily cried, running up to her mother and frowning. "What did _we_ do? I want to play with my gifts!"

Suddenly, James and Lily's father, Harry, walked out of the house with a threatening scowl on his face, running both his hands though his unmanageable locks. "I hope you're both satisfied with yourselves. You—"

"Honey," Ginny started, leaning into him and whispering in his ear. After a while, he shrugged.

"Sounds great to me. Maybe it'll finally teach them something." And then, with a frustrated yawn, he kissed her on the cheek. "I'm going back to bed."

"I'll be up soon," She told him, then turned back to the four children. "I know exactly what you all got, and you can tell all your cousins to have all their gifts in the broom shed by..." She glanced at her watch. "Eight o'clock sharp. I'm going to lock the doors and then maybe, just maybe, you'll all learn the meaning of respect."

"How the hell will this teach us respect?" James demanded angrily.

Ginny gave him a look that made the three other children back away slowly. She took a moment, then, "I hope next time you try to pull another prank, you'll think of how you lost your Christmas presents for a week."

"A week?" The four children echoed in unison.

Ginny raised her eyebrows, staring at them all. Before she could say anything, Lily spoke up:

"What on earth are we supposed to do all week with no magic and no presents?"

Ginny smiled tightly. "Spend quality time with your family." She threw her arms up in defeat. "God knows that's what Christmas is for, after all." And then she turned back to the house, calling over her shoulder, "Eight o'clock!"

"I bet you're all wondering why I've called you here." James stood on a large trunk that one of his cousins had brought all their clothes in for the week. The children always stayed at the Potter's for the week after Christmas, and all took the train back to school together.

"Frankly, I'm wondering why I haven't killed you yet!" Roxanne Weasley spoke up, flipping her damp hair over her shoulder. She had to take a shower because she smelled so bad after all those dungbombs.

James laughed nervously, then smiled. "I'm here to tell you all that my Mum says to put all your presents in the broom shed!"

"Beg your pardon?" Dominique Weasley said, her blonde hair also wet from her shower, as she narrowed her crystalline blue eyes.

"Well, you see... Mum thought it might be a nice—" He looked to Fred for assistance.

"Experiment," Fred offered, also stepping onto the trunk. "To see if we could spend, uh, Christmas break with each other. Like, as a family." He said. James nodded.

"It's your punishment for pranking us, isn't it," Victoire said disdainfully from the back, always seeing through James and Fred's lies. She had a sixth sense, that girl.

"Uh, maybe?"

"Now I'm _really_ wondering why I haven't killed him yet." Roxanne said.

"I want to go home!" Lucy Weasley told her older sister, Molly. Molly nodded.

"Yeah James, I mean, what's Christmas without presents? We might as well go home."

A couple cousins nodded in agreement, and suddenly, James was overcome with a sense of courage, as he yelled, "No!"

"No?" Rose raised an eyebrow.

"No!" He insisted. "I accept my Mum's challenge, and you know, maybe we can show her that we don't need presents and magic to have fun!" He shouted encouragingly. "What do you say?"

"I say you're mental." Roxanne said. "I mean, your house is huge, but... what are we supposed to do for a whole _week?_"

James thought long and hard. He looked to Fred for help, but Fred had nothing as well. James had to face it; his house was pretty boring.

"We could get our presents back." Albus said suddenly, looking up at his big brother for approval. "Like, give them in to Mum—"

"But steal them back." James finished quietly, a plan already forming in his mind. "We'd need your help. All of you." He told his large family, thinking and speaking faster now, and also quieter, so his Mum wouldn't hear.

Fred looked at James quizzically. James ignored him and continued on, "But first, let's give all our presents to my Mum." He clapped his hands together to conclude the meeting, and watched as his cousins actually... listened. Most of them grumbling, but nonetheless, they followed his orders.

"Don't s'pose we have a choice," Rose muttered to Albus. "Brilliant idea, by the way. It'll keep us from boring to death."

"Thanks." Albus said a bit shyly, not used to being the idea person. That spot was usually reserved for Rose.

"I really wanted to read this," She sighed disappointedly, holding up the large book her mother, Hermione Weasley had given her. "Mum said it was her favourite."

"We'll get it back in no time," Albus told her, as if he knew. Truth be told, he didn't really have that much faith in his elder brother, but working together might bring their entire family closer. And that's what Christmas was about, right?

"James, we really don't need the whole family for this," Fred told James under his breath while they watched their cousins collect their things. The two boys had already taken their new presents to the broom shed. "All we'd need is a couple spells, maybe a potion—"

"Really Fred?" James turned to him, whispering. "And how are supposed to find those things? We can't use our wands and our new kits are in the shed!" He had to work to keep his voice low, while several of his cousins were already going out into the backyard and dumping their things. "My plan is this," He brought Fred in closer. "We play games with the younger cousins, we socialize with the older cousins, and bada-boom, Mum will see and give us our presents back for being one big happy family." James snorted.

Fred stepped back and looked at James. "You are a genius."

"I know." James said, watching as Albus and Rose were the last two to leave the room. James caught Albus's eye and watched as his litter brother smiled at him. James smiled back.

"And so it begins," Fred said to James when the large room was only filled with their cousins sleeping bags and pillows. It was oddly empty, but James was confident with his plan. They'd get their presents back in no time.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Reviews are crazy awesome. I hope you stick around to hear what the story will actually be about, as this was just an abnormally long prologue to introduce the characters and setting and such.**

**Thanks for reading to the end,**

**-Taylor **


	2. Chapter 2

The cousins—except Teddy and Victoire—were all gathered together back in their huge shared space for sleeping. Albus was pretty sure his parents had gone back to bed, so they were pretty safe to talk strategy for getting the gifts back.

"What should we do first? Do you have anything hidden in your room that we can use?" Dominique asked James, while they all sat on their pillows in a large circle.

"Uh, no." He admitted. "I was thinking we could just..." He trailed off, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, clearly demonstrating to the group he really hadn't thought this through at all.

"You don't have a _plan?_" Rose scoffed.

"Hey!" Fred said. "We do, of course we do." He looked at James. "We don't have supplies, but we can make some."

"Make supplies?" Lily echoed. "Like, potions and stuff?"

"Precisely." James said quickly.

"What _kind_ of potions?" Roxanne challenged, crossing her arms.

"Not the kind you can make with your skill level, that's for sure." Fred whipped back, knowing that would shut up his younger sister. She was on the brink of failing her potions class and he knew it. Roxanne was silenced, arms still crossed over her chest. Fred smiled triumphantly.

"I was thinking we could look in my parent's room for some supplies," James said slowly, as if saying the words in a foreign language.

Lily and Albus couldn't control their audible gasps. "James!" Lily said. "You can't!"

"We'd get in so much trouble," Albus told his brother, knowing how secretive their parents were about their room. Not so specifically their bedroom or their bathroom but their room. The trio's parents had a special room full of Auror things that only James had seen when he was young, and didn't remember now. They were strictly forbidden to enter that room, under any circumstances.

"Well, we won't tell them," James said obviously. "My Dad's going to work for the next three days and my Mum is filling in as coach for the Harpies's next two games. That's when we'll get our supplies," He said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

The group was hesitant, but they had to admit, if they didn't get caught, the plan was pretty foolproof.

At the end of dinner, Harry spoke to his three children in the living room with his trunk and coat by the door. Harry was always very reserved when he spoke of his missions with the Order of the Phoenix. He wanted to keep his children safe and without worry.

"I'll see you in a couple days." He pulled them all into a tight embrace. "If I don't come back, remember I love you." He always said this before he left on a mission, but the kids still hadn't gotten used to how concerned these words made them feel.

Lily frowned and hugged him tight, not wanting to let go. "Bye Dad, I love you." She told him.

Harry smiled and kissed the top of her head. He looked at his two sons.

"Can I trust you two to hold down the fort while I'm gone?" He asked his sons. Normally, he didn't leave the kids without Ginny at home, but since Teddy was here, he felt confident that nothing too bad could happen. "Remember, forget the rules if you're in danger. Use your wands."

They all nodded. He and their mother always said this, too. Abide by the rules, unless you're in danger. It comforted the kids in an unusual way, but it worked. They always felt safer knowing they had the endless amounts of cool spells their parents had taught them to defend themselves.

Harry smiled one last time at his children, before grabbing his coat and trunk and opening the front door.

"Bye!" He called over his shoulder.

"Bye Uncle Harry!" All their cousins called back, as he stepped out of the door and closed it behind him.

Lily sniffed quietly beside Albus. James turned to her and hugged her. "It's OK. He'll be back. He always is, right?"

Lily nodded into her eldest brother's chest and wiped away her tears. "Are we really going to get our presents back, James?" She asked him quietly.

"I hope so," He said distantly, catching Albus's eye as he said it.

The next morning, the children all woke up to the sunshine beating through the window. Both of the guardians in the house were gone, and you could feel it. The house felt so oddly empty, although there were thirteen children all in one room.

"Ted," Albus said, once everyone was awake. "What's for breakfast?"

Teddy ran a hand through his Animagus hair, which was now a shiny black. "Er, what do you want?"

"Pancakes." Albus said automatically, grinning. It was his favourite breakfast meal. Teddy grinned back.

"Is everyone OK with pancakes?" Teddy called out, so the whole room could hear.

"I want bacon!" Roxanne said.

"And eggs?" Molly asked.

Teddy waited for someone else to shout out their orders. When no one else spoke up, he replied: "Alright. Pancakes with eggs and bacon. Sounds good." He turned to Victoire. "Want to help me play Emma Cookington?" Emma Cookington was a Wizarding World famous chef. Ginny owned three of her cookbooks.

"Sounds like fun," Victoire grinned. "OK everyone, get dressed and showered... Breakfast should be ready in no time."

As Victoire and Teddy left the room, James leaned into Albus, "Lucky bastards. They get to use magic." And then, speaking louder to the room, "Right. Screw showers and pajamas are comfier than clothes anyway, let's go explore!"

The children were hesitant to follow James and Albus into their parents' room. Even Fred, who was usually in the front with James, didn't feel comfortable defying his Aunt and Uncle.

"Well, come on!" James said impatiently. "Ted and Vic have got magic! We don't have much time!"

The mention of Teddy and Victoire, who could catch them in the threshold of Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry's room made the whole group quickly run into the room. All except for two.

"Molly, Lucy, come on." Albus encouraged. "It's OK."

Molly shook her head, all the while holding her sister back, who looked extremely nervous. "I don't feel right about this. Me and Lucy are going to get showered and dressed. We'll see you at breakfast."

James sighed impatiently as they turned their backs on the group, but encouraged the others to follow.

"Wait," Roxanne spoke up suddenly. "Why are we _all_ coming? Can't you pick up the things yourselves?"

The group, as if not having thought of this, all nodded. "Yeah, you don't need us!" Dominique said defiantly, stepping out of the room.

"Fine, whatever." James rolled his eyes. "Anyone else who doesn't want to come and see the pure awesomeness of this magical room can leave," He told the group dramatically.

Dominique and Roxanne shared a look, and Dominique slowly walked back through the doorway, arms crossed firmly over her chest.

"Lily..." Hugo tugged on his best mate's arm. "I want to leave,"

"Don't be a baby," Lily told him, as she has always secretly died to know what was so forbidden about this room. Hugo swallowed and nodded, putting on a brave face, but kept his tight grip on her arm.

"Alright... If everyone's staying, let's go." James led the clan through his parent's massive bedroom, and took them to a tall door. "This is it I think," He said, voice suddenly growing unsure by the second. Should they really be doing this? Was it really worth it?

"Well, go in then," Dominique said loudly, as if challenging him. James growled and grabbed the doorknob, turning it slowly and then giving it a sharp tug.

To everyone's surprise, it opened.

"No locks?" Albus gasped.

"No magic spell?" Fred asked.

James opened the door all the way and led his family into the larger-than-life room, which was only lit by the light coming through the open doorway.

"Anyone see a light switch?" James asked, his voice projecting along the wooden walls of the creepy room. It was much colder in here than the house, and the floorboards creaked when you stepped, unlike how James's Dad had fixed the house's floorboards. Louis, who was allergic to dust, sneezed.

"I found something," Rose said suddenly. "It's a...cabinet." She guessed, feeling the large wooden frame, and the two handles that were at her stomach level. It was at the complete end of the room, so it was much too dark to tell what exactly it was. The light from the doorway was so dim she could just barely see her hand in front of her face.

"Open it," Albus said back, following her voice and wincing every time the floorboards wailed when he stepped.

She opened it, and suddenly, the room was lit with a bright, silvery-blue colour. All heads turned towards Rose, who had found what seemed to be the only thing in the room.

"What... is it?" Albus said quietly, right by her side.

"Some sort of... bowl?" Rose supposed, mustering up her courage and touching the unknown object. It had weird carvings around the edges of it, some sort of ancient runes, maybe. And the silvery light was coming from the inside of the bowl, and what Rose saw was a bit hard to explain. "I don't understand," She said, as more cousins approached the bowl's contents. "It's a liquid...?"

"Or a gas, maybe." Albus said, as close as she was now, equally bemused.

"It's bright," Fred said, with James right behind him, finally reaching the basin.

James was speechless. He'd never seen anything like it.

"Somebody touch it." Roxanne said suddenly, thrill creeping into her voice.

"Nuh-uh, no way." Hugo said, trying to pull Lily away, who wouldn't budge.

"Why don't _you_ touch it, _Roxy?_" Louis said, challenging his cousin with the nickname that made her blood boil.

"_I'll_ touch it," James offered loudly, interrupting the beginning of Roxanne's snarky response to Louis. Everyone immediately backed away from the basin as he stepped forward. He looked back, and they all waved him forward, trying to get a good look without getting too close.

"OK." James took a deep breath. He pointed his finger and put it right above the water. Readying himself, he took a deep breath and...

"_JAMES!_"

James jumped back, clutching his pointer finger and whipping around. "_WHAT?_" He demanded of his little sister who had nearly just given him a heart attack.

"I just wanted to say be careful," She said nervously. James tried for a smile but could only muster up a weak grimace.

"Right," He said, taking another deep breath and turning back to the mysterious bowl. Anxiously, he dipped the tip of his finger into the shallow water. The gasps from his cousins were soon muted by the fact that nothing happened. James, who was disappointed from the basin, dipped his whole hand through.

"Nothing?" Fred prompted, walking up closer to his best mate, feeling less intimidated by the bowl.

"Nada." James replied, putting both hands in, and watching carefully as the never-ending clouds of silver and white danced around his wrists, but never did anything else. Frustrated, he dipped his head closer to the edge of the water. It was smooth, without any waves, but the liquid continued to dance along his hands. He was looking so close in fact, and he was so mesmerized by the cool, dancing water, that he didn't even notice when the tips of his hair dipped into the water. And then his nose touched it. And then...

"_JAMES!_" Fred, Albus and Lily all cried at exactly the same moment, when their cousin and brother disappeared completely.

"What the _hell?_" Dominique cried.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no," Hugo repeated and repeated, as if like a chant.

"What _happened?_" Roxanne shouted, hopping on her feet and turning to her brother, who was slowly growing closer and closer to the basin.

"All he did was..." Fred said, putting his hands into the water and then dipping his face close and...

"Fred..." Roxanne warned, "_NO!_" She cried quickly, as her brother disappeared into the basin. "I'm going after him!" She said, not even bothering to turn around.

"No, you mustn't!" Rose told her, grabbing her arm. Lily suddenly bursted into tears, while Albus held her tight, trying to calm her.

"I'm going." Dominique said suddenly, splashing her hands into the basin and diving in before the others could even say no. The gasps and cries were to no avail—Dominique was gone.

"_Nobody else is going in!_" Albus roared suddenly, building up his courage as he realized no one else would. "We're all going to wait here until something happens, is that clear?"

His family nodded while Lily sobbed quietly into his chest. Albus desperately tried to calm his younger sister, and while he looked around the room, he saw Rose holding Hugo protectively, while Louis and Roxanne held each other, both missing their elder siblings.

"I never got to say, 'I love you.'" Lily sobbed into Albus. "Dad said to always say it before you leave!"

"I know, I know," Albus said quietly, petting her hair. "Shh, it's OK." He tried desperately to comfort the whole group. While his head rested on top of Lily's he noticed that the basin wasn't just a basin with weird runes all over it. Inside of the cupboard that held it, there were several small flasks full of the same whitish liquid. Before he could think too much of it, James, Fred, and Dominique were back, panting and with shocked looks on their faces.

"James!" Albus and Lily cried, hugging him.

"Dom!" Louis sighed in relief, while his sister ran up to envelop him in a tight embrace.

"Freddy!" Roxanne smiled at her older brother, wrapping her arms around him. "Where the hell did you go?" She demanded, punching him in the arm once she was sure he was safe. "You scared the sh—the uh, sugar out of us!" Roxanne looked nervously to Lily and Hugo who seemed oblivious.

"Nice save," Fred joked, bumping her hip. "We went... James where the hell _did_ we go?" Fred turned to James, confused.

"We... Well, that is a very good question." James explained, looking over Lily's head at the group.

"It was some sort of... dream." Dominique explained. "But we were all there. And your Dad was there," She looked to Lily and Albus. "And your Dad and Mum were there," She looked to Rose and Hugo. "And some man with a beard was there, too."

"But our parents were _young,_" James stressed the word. "Like, our age. And they kept talking about some girl named Ariana who uh..." He trailed off, catching Fred and Dominique's eyes, then shutting up.

"Is it dangerous?" Rose asked, arms still protectively over Hugo.

"We're alive, aren't we?" Fred grinned back.

Before anyone could ask anything more, they heard Teddy call, "Breakfast is on the table!" using his wand to amplify his voice so it rang though the house.

"Did it hurt?" Hugo asked in awe, while the children shakily closed the cabinet doors and stepped outside of Ginny and Harry's enormous room.

"It was like being sucked into a cold black hole." James tried to explain in the lightest way possible. "But it didn't hurt."

"But did—" Lily began, but James shushed her.

"Don't say anything about this to Ted or Vic, OK?" He said. The cousins all agreed, and made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Smells good," James said, trying to ease everyone back into normality. If one of the younger children blew this, Ted was sure to tell Harry. James would be dead meat!

"Mmhm, yeah." Fred agreed, catching on.

"Delicious." Dominique added.

"Thank Victoire, she did it all," Teddy told them, while putting the stack of pancakes on the table. "Tuck in," He told his family, sitting in between Victoire and Albus.

After a few bites and the sound of cutlery against plates, Teddy turned to Albus. "Aren't you going to eat? We made pancakes specifically for you."

"I'm not hungry anymore," Albus said.

James and Fred exchanged worried glances, and then James spoke up, "It's my fault Ted, I gave him some vomit flavoured Bertie Botts." James forced a cheeky grin and hoped Teddy didn't see through it.

Teddy only chuckled though, and James let out a muted sigh of relief. Maybe, just maybe, they could get through this meal.

"Heard anything from Mum and Dad?" Lily surprised her cousins by acting, well—normal. They had thought it would be her or Hugo to mess things up for sure.

"Not yet," Teddy answered, chewing. "We could listen to the Harpie's game if you fancy that? It's on in about an hour?" He asked the table.

Nobody answered, so Victoire filled the silence, "I'll listen with you,"

"You can tell us how it goes afterwards," Rose smiled, only briefly looking up from her plate to say so, and then rushing her glance back down, worried she might give something away.

"Sure." Teddy smiled back, scraping his cutlery against his plate.

After some minutes of silence, Teddy stood up to clear and wash his plate.

James stood quickly. "Mine as well, please?" He grinned at Teddy, handing him his plate. Suddenly, the other children realized this was an excuse to leave the awkward table and also handed their plates to Teddy.

Teddy sighed. "Just because you don't want to wash them yourselves doesn't mean you have to be finished breakfast so soon," He called as his family left the room faster than they'd come.

He sat next to Victoire after washing all the dishes and sighed. "I'm a bit worried, you know."

"I know," She admitted. "Me too."

* * *

**Author's Note: Reviewers get a million dollars delivered to their doorstep by next week. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I loved writing it!**

**-Taylor**


	3. Chapter 3

"Teddy, Victoire!" The nine children ran down the stairs as fast as they could, two children hanging back. "Can we go to the park?" Lily huffed, coming to a stop in front of their two "guardians".

"Sure," Teddy said, oblivious to the devilish grins all nine children wore. Or was he just used to them by now? "D'you want us to come or—?"

"I think we can handle it," James snorted sarcastically, putting and arm around Lily and Hugo and leading them out the door. "We'll be back in time for lunch!" He called over his shoulder, quickly grabbing his jacket on the way out and flinging it over his shoulders.

As everyone followed him, Molly and Lucy hung back, facing Teddy.

"Moll?" Dominique said over her shoulder, bemused. "You coming?"

"Lucy has a stomach ache," Molly said to both Teddy and Dominique. "She wants to go home, and I want to go with her. Just to make sure she's OK."

Teddy scratched the back of his neck, obviously uncomfortable. "Listen, I'm not really sure I can let you... Both of your parents are with Harry and The Order..."

"I watch over Lucy all the time when our parents are gone, really." She assured him. Dominique watched as her other cousins left without her, and she felt torn. She knew the plan—to run out the front door and climb up the back window of the house to Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry's room—but she wasn't sure she could climb without a boost. She needed to get out back before they all climbed up without her.

"Moll, can I talk to you for a mo?" Dominique quickly pulled her cousin aside, out of Teddy and her sister's earshot. "You're not going to—I mean, you wouldn't..."

"Tell on you?" Molly guessed, obviously offended. Dominique was instantly guilty for having thought it. "I might not agree with what you're all doing but I'm not a snitch. Give me a call if anything interesting happens but aside from that, I'm sorry I just... I can't do this to Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry." She said.

"I understand," Dominique said. "I'll call you, I promise," She said, feeling sorry that Molly was caught between guilt and curiosity. After all, everyone else was too, but curiosity ruled out for everyone else. Molly was the only responsible one who felt guilt stronger than interest.

"See you," Molly hugged her cousin, and watched as Dominique bent down to hug Lucy, who was being excessively quiet lately. Perhaps she felt the same way as her sister about all the snooping. Dominique grabbed her coat and quickly sprinted out of the house to catch up with her cousins, and found them round back in Ginny's frozen garden.

"Sorry," Dominique panted once she met them. "Had to say goodbye to Molly and Lucy," She explained. Before anyone could ask, she summarized, "They don't want to get in trouble."

A few pitied sighs and moans later, the group was back on track: "OK, Albus and I made this ladder years ago so hopefully it works," James said.

"_Hopefully?_" Rose repeated, incredulous and now slowly backing away.

"Oh come on, what's the worst that could happen?" Fred pushed her forward, grinning.

Rose suddenly realized she was the closest to the ladder and that all her cousins were staring at her. She sighed and gave the ladder a sharp tug. It didn't budge, so she began to slowly climb it.

"That's it, Rose!" James cheered.

"If I die I'm going to kill you," She said calmly, keeping her eyes up and moving her feet and hands in rhythm.

James pretended not to hear her as he turned around and clapped his hands. "Right, who's next?"

Fred shrugged and stepped forward. He waited until Rose was safely in the house, and, began with a sharp tug on the unsteady vines and rope. He took a deep breath and climbed his way to the top, getting his wide shoulders stuck in the frame of the window, Rose had to pull him through.

James winced as he heard a thump. "Oi, quiet will you?" James hissed. "Ted and Victoire are straight down those stairs!"

"They're listening to the game, calm down." Rose poked her head out the window and rolled her eyes.

Albus stepped forward next, and went straight up the ladder without bothering to check its stability. Albus climbed up like a monkey, knowing exactly which vine to grab and almost diving through the window once he'd reached it. James grinned proudly at his little brother, who poked his head out of the window to look at his older brother. They met eyes and shared a grin before James motioned for someone else to go.

Dominique stepped forward and took her climb. Next to go was Lily, and then Hugo, both who needed a boost from James to get started. Louis and Roxanne went, and then James joined his cousins upstairs, reminding them that although Teddy and Victoire had the game on so loudly they heard it from upstairs, they still needed to be quiet.

He directed his family to his parent's room, and opened the creaking, tall door with ease. He let his family go in before him, and shut the door behind them once Rose had opened the cabinet and it illuminated the room.

"What now?" Louis asked curiously, sidestepping Roxanne to get a better view of the glowing cabinet.

"Now," Albus said, "I say we dump one of these vials in."

Nobody except for Albus had seen the vials yesterday, and the mention of them was a surprise to most.

"What _are_ they?" Hugo gasped in awe, staring with his mouth open.

"Why don't we find out?" Albus grinned at him, stepping towards the cupboard and grabbing a vial at random. He held it at eye level and examined the steam-like gas that swum around the glass.

"Al," James stepped in front of the group surrounding his little brother. "Do you think I should do it?"

"Um, why?" Albus asked staring at James strangely.

"I just—uh," He stammered while his brother watched him carefully. He realized he didn't know what to say. "Go on," He said, motioning his brother forward with a wave.

Albus, with one last bemused look back to his brother, popped the cap off the vial. "I'm going to pour it in," He said aloud, as he let the whitish gas flow smoothly from the tip of the vial into the strange, misty water without even a splash.

"Albus," Rose said suddenly. "What's that on the cap?" She was already taking it from his hand, as the group came closer to see. She frowned and read, "_Neville Longbottom_."

"Neville?" Fred said disbelievingly, taking the cap from her. Rose crossed her arms as he read it for himself.

"Did I stutter?" Rose asked, raising a challenging eyebrow. Fred blushed and handed it back to her, seeing that the cap did in fact read Neville Longbottom.

"Should I go—?" Albus asked, pointing to the basin.

"I'll stay back," James said. "I'll make sure everyone gets in safely."

Albus shrugged, but was surprised by how responsible his older brother was suddenly being. Not that he and James spent much time together anymore. When they were younger, they used to build forts, and make Lily be their servant—Albus chuckled mutely to himself at the thought—but nowadays, Lily, he, and James hardly ever saw each other except for mealtimes. Maybe this whole thing would bring their family closer. Albus felt stupid for thinking it, but he really wished it did.

"Are you going in?" James prompted him. Albus broke out of his thoughts.

"Yes—Yes of course." He said confidently, putting both hands on the side of the bowl and dipping his head into the water like James had told him to. Instantly, he felt himself be flung off his feet and be submerged into a sheet of icy cold that was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. He landed on his feet in a darkened hallway, and saw four figures that he didn't recognize at first. Four teenagers who looked a bit malnourished, all with greasy, unkempt hair and wearing dirty street clothes. As they approached a light, he saw that the teenager in front was awfully beaten and bruised on his face, with cuts streaking his jaw and a gush of dried blood on his hairline. Suddenly, he looked past the scars and bruises when the teenager flashed a smile at what appeared to be his friends. Why, it was Neville!

Dominique appeared next to him, and shortly after came Louis, Lily and Hugo.

"You guys," Albus said excitedly, as the four teenagers spoke to themselves. "That's _Neville!_"

"Not only that..." Dominique said, while Fred and Roxanne landed swiftly on their feet next to them. "It's Uncle Harry, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Hermione!"

"_What?_" Albus gasped, trying to get a better look. He saw a flash of orange beneath the grime on one male's head. And the female must have been Hermione. The male talking hurriedly to Neville with the round glasses must be... Albus's father, Harry.

"Are we seeing their mission?" Albus wondered aloud, but his father's face was barely recognizable. He hoped his father didn't go through this every time he left for The Order, it looked absolutely awful.

"No," Dominique said, as the last few cousins appeared, and finally James last. "I think it's their... past."

"What d'you mean?" Lily asked before anyone else could. James stepped in front of them all, walking closer. "Be careful!" Lily hissed, as James stepped dangerously close to the teenagers. Nothing happened. They didn't even glance back at him.

"Don't they see him?" Hugo asked, gasping as Ron's head turned in the light, and there was no mistaking it—that was his father.

Albus knew why Hugo was so shocked. For many reasons, this was a strange scene. It was always weird to see your parents young. Albus remembered the first picture he'd seen of his Mum when she was younger, as King's Cross with her brothers. It was strange to see what she looked like before he was born. But, apart from that weirdness, it was also a bit scary. Their parents looked... well, to put it lightly, they looked homeless. They were rugged, tired, their faces matted with dirt... it seemed like they hadn't seen themselves in a mirror for months.

"You guys, come listen to this!" James said suddenly, excitedly. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville were speaking in soft tones so it was hard to hear from where the children stood. They came closer to the four teenagers and heard Neville speaking excitedly:

"But what have you been doing?" Neville said, smiling brightly despite the three grim faces that looked back. "People have been saying you've just been on the run, Harry, but I don't think so. I think you've been up to something."

"You're right," Harry said, and Albus, James and Lily were all taken aback. Their father's voice was eerily depressed. "But tell us about Hogwarts, Neville, we haven't heard anything."

"Where've they been?" Hugo asked.

"_Shh!_" Dominique and James said aggressively, as Neville began to speak again.

"It's been... well, it's not really like Hogwarts anymore," Neville admitted, his excited grin fading from his face as he spoke. "Do you know about the Carrows?"

"The Death Eaters?" Roxanne gasped, thinking of the siblings who were sentenced to Azkaban for life. Harry, Ron and Hermione had caught them twenty years ago, and the anniversary of the memorable catch was in the Daily Prophet just weeks previously.

"Those two Death Eaters who teach here?" Harry prompted.

"They do more than teach," Neville's voice took on the same grim tone as Harry's. "They're in charge of all discipline. They like punishment, the Carrows."

"Like Umbridge?"

"Who's Umbridge?" Lily interrupted.

"Keep interrupting and we won't find out!" James said impatiently, a warning to everyone to stop interjecting.

"—make her look tame." Neville continued, "The other teaches are all supposed to refer us to the Carrows if we do anything wrong. They don't though, if they can avoid it. You can tell they all hate them as much as we do. Amycus, the bloke, he teaches what used to be Defense Against the Dark Arts, except now it's just the Dark Arts. We're supposed to practice the Cruciatus Curse on people who've earned detentions—"

"_What?_" The united voices of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dominique, and Rose echoed.

"Yeah," said Neville. "That's how I got this one," he gestured to the particularly deep gash on his cheek. "I refused to do it."

Neville continued to speak as Lily and Hugo backed away from the four teenagers, scared. Lily tugged on Louis's arm.

"I don't like this, Louis." She admitted. "The Cruciatus Curse? I have nightmares about that kind of stuff!" Louis, although painfully hanging on to each word that fell from Neville's mouth, put his arms around the two youngest children in comfort.

"—Muggle studies, which is compulsory for everyone. We've got to listen to her explain how Muggles are like animals, stupid and dirty—"

"_OI!_" Rose exclaimed, thinking of her lovely mother, who brought these two clowns down. She felt better after that thought and calmed down a bit.

"—drove wizards into hiding by being vicious towards them, and how the natural order is being re-established. I got this one," Neville pointed to another slash on his face, "for asking how much Muggle blood she and her brother have got."

"HA!" Albus yelled, while his cousins cheered a bit.

"Good ol' Neville!" Fred whooped.

However, the children were surprised to see that their parents weren't taking it so lightly. Hermione and Harry gasped, and Ron looked aghast.

"Blimey, Neville," said Ron, "there's a time and place for getting a smart mouth."

James turned to Rose. "What's _his_ problem?"

Rose chuckled, but she could see many problems in this situation. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville all looked far from laughing. In fact, Rose wouldn't have been surprised if they hadn't cracked a smile in a long time. The four began to slowly walk up the stoned hallway, and the children followed curiously.

"—it helps when people stand up to them, it gives everyone hope. I used to notice that when you did it, Harry." Neville looked to Harry admirably. Harry didn't meet his eyes, looking sadly at the ground in obvious discomfort that Neville didn't seem to notice.

"But they've used you as a knife sharpener," Said Ron, and the children all winced when the group passed a lamp and Neville's injuries were highlighted well.

"So what do you think happened to him?" James leaned into his younger brother and whispered. Albus looked at him stupidly.

"The Carrows got him. Haven't you been listening?"

James sighed. "I got that part. I mean... how did Hogwarts get this way? Dad said it was messed up before the war but this..." He trailed off, looking at the four teenagers who he'd known his whole life and yet, were barely recognizable.

"I think maybe—" Albus paused. "I think maybe Dad lied to us." He said quietly, voice breaking

"He held the god damn truth from us, that's for sure." James said, watching his father speak to Neville and wonder just how much of what he was telling was lies, and how much was the truth.

"They all did. Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, Neville—" He took a breath. "Mom." He finished.

"Anything they told us could be a lie, and we just... believed them." James said, surprised. As if he couldn't believe just how naïve they'd all been.

There was silence for a moment. "James?" Albus whispered.

"Yeah?"

"What is this...thing?"

"I don't—I don't know." James said honestly. "But we're going to go through each and every one of those vials until we find out the truth, that's for sure." James's voice was confident now, and Albus was grateful to have his brother here to guide him.

"—Gran's on the run. She sent me a letter," He patted him breast pocket fondly. "telling me she was proud of me, that I'm my parent's son, and to keep it up."

"Cool." Ron said, voice cracking. He looked genuinely happy for Neville, but almost like a flick of a switch, his smile disappeared into a longing frown. Then, back in a flash, the smile. Rose wondered when was the last time her father had seen his mother. She'd bet not for some time. There was no way Gran would ever let him leave the house looking like that.

"—I don't know whether they were planning to kill me or send me to Azkaban, either way, I knew it was time to disappear."

"But," Ron said, confused. "aren't we heading straight back into Hogwarts?"

"Course," Said Neville, a smug smirk peeking through his happy smile. "You'll see. We're here,"

And in a flash, the kids were back in their parent's forbidden room, spines tingling and feet frozen, staring at the strange bowl.

"What _was_ that?" Roxanne said quietly.

Her cousins were just as lost as she was. They stood in stunned silence for a while, shrugging to each other and wondering what they had just witnessed.

"I think," Hugo spoke up nervously. "Our parents haven't told us some things."

"They bloody well lied to us!" Dominique suddenly exploded angrily. "D'you know what they told me? D'you know what I got back when I asked why our family is so famous?" Everybody waited. "They told me they were soldiers in a war fighting for wizards everywhere. And I never even pursued it!" She said, rather loudly.

"_Shh!_" James told her aggressively, reminding her that Teddy and Victoire were right down the stairs. "Alright, our parents lied to us. We all know it, now let's move on. This bowl..." He put a hand on he edge. "Is special. And this bowl... well, it could lead us to the truth." He told them, grabbing a random vial and pointing to it. "Look here! Harry Potter V! The fifth vial my Dad's given! I don't know what it means, but it's a start. We're on to something here if we pursue it."

"I'm in." Dominique said curtly, grabbing another vial and reading it. "Molly Weasley." She read aloud with a sour tone. Great. More people who have been lying through their teeth to the children this whole time.

"Same." Roxanne said, pushing James aside and taking a vial. "George Weasley." She said her father's name angrily, wanting to see this vial straight away.

James looked to the rest of his cousins and siblings. Fred, his best mate, looked appalled. But after a shared look with James and a feeling of curiosity that was never going to go away, he took a step towards the cupboard and nodded.

Lily, Louis and Hugo all nodded too, taking a step forward. They turned and looked at Albus and Rose, who stared right back, torn.

Albus was sure he and Rose were thinking the same thing—what exactly were they going to see? Maybe there was a reason their parents had kept this a secret from all of them. Maybe it was for their own good that they never find out. Maybe—

"I'm in." Rose stepped forward confidently, and Albus realized he was alone in his thoughts.

Albus stared at his family, and realized this is what he'd been waiting for. The moment that would bring his family together as one...

With that thought in mind, he took a cautionary step forward and cleared his throat. "Where do we begin?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Just a reminder that I (of course) do not own rights to Harry Potter!  
I hope you all liked this chapter and let me know what you thought in the reviews. I'd be so happy to hear from you!**

**-Taylor**


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